The SAG-AFTRA Foundation will present its Patron of the Artists Awards to entertainment industry leader Jeffrey Katzenberg and director-producer-writer Spike Lee.
The foundation made the announcement Tuesday. It said the awards honor industry leaders who are champions of the arts and whose history of fostering creativity and creating opportunities for actors has made a positive impact on the acting profession and the performing arts.
The foundation’s third annual Patron of the Artists Awards benefit takes place Nov. 8 at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts in Beverly Hills.
SAG-AFTRA Foundation President JoBeth Williams said, “Jeffrey Katzenberg and Spike Lee are two leaders within our industry who have created opportunities, opened doors, nurtured careers and provided jobs to countless artists. They understand the value of artists — and the arts — to transport us to worlds that we have never seen before and tell stories that have never been told before. Mr. Lee and Mr. Katzenberg are innovators, leaders and champions of the arts, and of artists, and could not be more deserving of our Patron of the Artists Awards.”
Katzenberg was a longtime executive with Disney and co-founder of DreamWorks SKG. He’s the co-founder of new media-technology company WndrCo and NewTV. Lee began his career with 1986’s “She’s Gotta Have It.” His most recent feature film is “BlacKkKlansman.”
Previous recipients of the SAG-AFTRA Foundation’s Patron of the Artists Awards are Judd Apatow, Kathryn Bigelow, Lee Daniels, Megan Ellison, Rob Marshall, and Ted Sarandos. The SAG-AFTRA Foundation will also recognize Harrison Ford and Lady Gaga with Artists Inspiration Awards at the Nov. 8 event for their philanthropic work.
(Below: Spike Lee and Jeffrey Katzenberg in 2005 at the Stars Benefit Gala)
